I have commented before on how watching Boris Johnson answering the Commons Treasury Select committee made me think of being at school and somebody in the class being caught out not having done their homework.

Watching Dominic Cummings being “tested” by the same committee only confirmed the impression that the Brexiters are trying to skate through the exams without having even read the set books.

It was the body language as much as anything. When asked a question there was shuffling of papers or twitching of shirt cuffs combined with a hesitant and lacking-in-facts delivery.

Who did they think they were going to convince with a performance such as this?

A 12 year old facing down the school teacher and attempting such bravado in front of his chums would not have been rewarded with slaps on the back and tuck shop treats from their classmates.

About the only thing the two of them didn’t try was the “Sorry sir, our dog ate my homework book”.

But perhaps they couldn’t agree whether it was a Canadian Labrador, a Norwegian Elkhound, a Swiss St. Bernard or just a WTO mongrel!